


Dawn

by Eriathalia



Series: Changes [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Luke is still unable to simply accept being loved, Rey gets romantic, watching sunsets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 19:11:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5939995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eriathalia/pseuds/Eriathalia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke is still holding back. Rey has to take different measures to make him see he is exactly who she wants by her side.<br/>Luke gets to be defiant and Rey centers with being ridiculously romantic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> The writer apologizes for letting herself get carried away. Bad weeks need some countermeasures. This is just another one ;)

Conquering one’s fears is a long and tedious process. Both Rey and Luke have come to acknowledge this, even in their relatively short time together. It is also a test that bares the deepest and darkest corner of a spirit. They’re bound to not like what they find, in themselves and in one another. Old habits die hard and change always demands letting go of them first.

They decide to end their day with a stroll along the hills, talking and discovering more stories of their former lives. For the first time, Rey is allowed to hold his hand as they walk. He has always been reluctant to show his affection that way. Rey can sense he is afraid, even if Luke isn't aware of it himself. So she waits patiently, well aware that her beloved is a man not easily adapting to receiving affection - or giving it, for that matter.  
That's why she values every tiny step forward, be it another memory shared, his hand reaching out to hold hers or even him using a simple endearment. For most it would be insufficient, to her it means the world.

"Lost in thought again, I see" Luke squeezes her hand. "Will you share them with me?"  
" It was nothing special" She gifts him with another of those smiles he has come to love, to memorize and store away in his heart like precious jewels.  
"E-everything about you is..." He adds quietly, voice betraying every ounce of insecurity "Special, I mean"  
"I hope that's saying 'in a positive way'." She's merely teasing but notes her mistake the moment he lowers his head and looks away.  
"Hey..." She gently touches his cheek, tilts his head back up. His eyes, however, remain averted.  
"I was teasing, nothing more. I'm sorry"  
"No, I am. I can never get this right" He sighs sadly.  
"And I don't expect you to. Neither can I. Does it matter?"  
"It does matter to me. Maybe I’m not-" She picks up his thought before he even voices it.  
"Luke!" Her demeanor is stern. He recoils immediately.  
"Don't do this, please" She whispers. He's drawing back, fast. Rey can feel it in the Force, the fine tendrils connecting them retreating to form a shield around his spirit.   
She thinks, desperate to find a way to repair the damage her carelessness has done. It dawns on her as she watches the clouds beyond them.   
"Come with me!" Determined, she takes a hold of his hand again and starts to move, breaking into a jog, leaving him with no choice but to follow.  
"Where are you taking me?" He appears breathless, the sudden activity taking its toll on him.  
"You'll see soon enough. Now hurry up!"   
Up they go, higher and higher to the top of the cliffs, the uppermost spot on their island. Once there she pulls him down to the soft grass, making them end up in an ungraceful heap of limbs. Taking just a moment she shifts so he is lounging comfortably, his head resting on her shoulder and held in place by her arms around his back.

"What are we doing here?" He's still trying to regain his breath.  
"Be quiet and watch. It's about time. You have a little patience to spare, don't you?"  
"Asks the one so well known for hers" He huffs and turns his gaze away, watching the clouds, causing her to roll her eyes.  
"Sometimes you're behaving like an overgrown five-year-old"  
"Well, you are one to complain..." She rolls her eyes again. It has long been a secret no more, that he will hide behind a facade of false indifference or irritation, once he finds himself overtaxed by a situation. With her it's usually the latter showing.   
"Just relax for a few minutes old man, will you?"  
"Why are you putting up with me when I'm nothing but an old man to you?" He's getting more and more defiant. It's not his usual nature, but the last shards of a betrayal, memories from a time decades ago, cripple his ability to succumb to his true feelings and let her love him the way she so clearly wants to.  
The hurt he caused is obvious in her next words, though she tries to conceal it. "You already know the answer."

They fall into a heavy silence. Luke feels a wave of guilt clouding his thoughts, but he's unable to speak, afraid that he will make matters worse with not finding the right words once more.  
From the corner of his eye he notes it, a change in the sky, slowly developing into a blazing light, tinting the heavens into brightest colors of red and gold. It warms his aching heart.

"Can you see it?" Her voice is barely above a whisper as if she was trying not to disturb the peaceful moment.   
"I do."  
"And do you also understand why I wanted you to see?" She watches him carefully.  
"I...am not certain" He's almost embarrassed about being so oblivious.  
"Then I'll have to explain. Will you hear me out?"  
"Yes."

"This sunset, what does it lead to?"  
"It's leading day into night." It is obvious he doesn't follow her train of thought.   
"Indeed. The light of the day fades in a bright red glow. It's like a symbol of old things ending. Just like our old lives did." Slowly the sun fades, making way for the dark night sky speckled with stars.  
"You see this? It's what I thought my future would be like. Dark, endless shadows with no way out, no matter where I turn. And then I saw it. A tiny shimmer. It came in the form of a small, feisty, orange droid. And then there was another, and another, more and more. Finn, Poe, Han, the general, all of the resistance fighters. They were brightening my dark life like the stars in the sky." She shifts to meet his eyes "Stars helped our ancestors to navigate their ways and just like that my friends helped me to find my way here. But you..." She brushes a strand of hair from his forehead "You are different. The night is not due to end for long hours. But neither was the way to find you short or easy. Still, imagine it: upon dawn the rising sun will chase away the darkness and make way for a new day to live to its fullest." She kisses his forehead, gently, reverently. "You're like my sun, Luke. You are the one to end the darkness in my life. And now matter how long it takes you to accept that you are worthy of being loved, I will wait and gladly watch the sunrise again and again.” She cups his cheeks, rubs her thumb across it in a display of pure fondness.  
“And do you want to know why? It's because I believe in you. It's because I love you, Luke Skywalker, my brightest star of all."

Luke remains silent but she can feel his shoulders shaking. Soon there are muffled sounds, his breath hitching and eventually giving way to soft sobbing. Her shirt is soaked by tears where his head still rests against her shoulder. It is all she can do to hold on to him tighter, stroking his hair soothingly, rocking him softly.  
Finally, when he calms down, she can hear it, a tired croak but full of honest emotion: "I love you too, Rey"

They fall asleep under the clear night sky and once they awake he leans in for a tender kiss as they are bathed in the light of a new dawn.


End file.
